HIT BELIEVES THAT IT OCCUPIES THE SITE OF THE GARDEN OF
EDEN
The town, on the border between the alluvial and the stone country, stands on a low hill of mud 70 milesfrom
Baghdad,
aplace
ofheat,
insects,
and
nauseous fumes from its bitumen wells (see illustration, page 121).
ARAB TRADITION SAYS THAT THE INFANT MOSES WAS SET ADRIFT INSUCH
A"GUFA"
"Round like a buckler and freighted with casks of palm wine," so Herodotus described this ancient river
craft
oftheTigris
and
Euphrates.
They
are circular and basket-shaped, about six feet in diameter, and are woven from willows, coated outside with
bitumen.
The
famous
Greek
historian
and traveler also tells that they floated downstream from Armenia, each bearing a live ass, and that on arrivalatBabylon
they
were
pulled
apart
and
the
ribs of willow, date palm, and pomegranate sold with the merchandise. The swift current here on the TigrisatBaghdad
spins
thecraft
around
like
atop.